Zephyrs come up short in season finale

Ed Easley's 10th-inning double drove in the go-ahead run and gave the Memphis Redbirds a 7-6 win over the New Orleans Zephyrs in the season finale on Monday afternoon.

New Orleans finished the year with a 70-74 record, 9.5 games behind the division-winning Redbirds.

The Zephyrs wasted little time taking the lead, as Austin Wates drilled a double into the left-center field gap to lead off the first. With two outs, he broke for third base and opened a hole at short for Justin Bour to rip a single to left for the game's first run.

Brian Bogusevic roped a line drive home run over the right field fence an inning later, his sixth homer of the season, to double the Zephyrs' lead to 2-0.

The Redbirds used the long ball to even the score in the fourth. Stephen Piscotty hit his eighth of the year to lead off, and Xavier Scruggs followed with his 21st home run, but those were the only blemishes against Z's starter Andrew Heaney, who otherwise retired 13 straight batters until a two-out double by Tommy Pham in the fifth.

New Orleans quickly gave Heaney the lead again in their half of the fourth, when Bogusevic doubled into the left field corner, then went to third on a throwing error by Rafael Ortega and scored on a lineout to center by Rob Brantly.

Wates led off the fifth with a fly ball to shallow right field, and Piscotty's diving attempt caused the ball to carom into the Zephyrs' bullpen, allowing Wates to cruise into third with his fourth triple. Two batters later, Bour laced an opposite-field home run, his 18th of the season, giving the Z's a 5-2 cusion.

Heaney carried the three-run lead into the seventh, where he issued a leaoff walk but recovered to fan Greg Miclat for his fifth strikeout of the game and was removed after 95 pitches. The southpaw was charged with three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings, but the Z's bullpen could not protect the lead.

Steve Ames issued walks to Pham and Easley to load the bases and threw a wild pitch to bring in one run before Piscotty drove a two-run double to center to tie the game.

After Rett Varner struck out Scruggs, a blooper by Luis Mateo fell into shallow right field between a trio of Zephyrs to score Piscotty with the go-ahead run.

Bogusevic led off the ninth against with a double, his fourth hit of the game, and scored one out later on a double down the right field line by Juan Diaz to send the game into extra innings.

Edgar Olmos (2-3) issued a two-out walk in the 10th to Pham, who moved up to second when Olmos threw wildly on a pickoff attempt. Easley then doubled past Zack Cox at third to put the Redbirds back in the lead.

Samuel Tuivailala, who made his Triple-A debut on Sunday, struck out two in the bottom of the 10th and worked around a two-out double by Kike Hernandez to pick up the save.

Jorge Rondon (5-4) was credited with the victory despite his fifth blown save.